


What's The Worst That Could Happen?

by ErinTheTrickster



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Ghosts, Haunting, Horror, Short One Shot, The Factory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 11:39:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16367174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinTheTrickster/pseuds/ErinTheTrickster
Summary: A storm hits a small town and causes a power outage, leaving three teens trapped inside an old abandoned factory. Little do the three youths know that the factory is haunted by the ghost of an angry/bitter factory worker who died by machinery.





	What's The Worst That Could Happen?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I was doing some digging around my old files and found this horror story I wrote way back when. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

I took a deep breath, pulling up my hood over my head and zipping up my sweatshirt. But my body remained frigid. The storm just had to hit now, right in the middle of winter. I thought winter meant snowstorms and school closings. Not dreary thunderstorms and power outages. We were all unlucky enough to get caught in the storm just as we were about to head home from hanging out downtown. We managed to find shelter in one of the old abandoned factories they normally refurbish and turn into apartment complexes. But for some odd reason, this old textile factory remained in ruins.

 

I watched my breath form small clouds in the cold, moist darkness. Hal and I sat by one of the broken down generators and watched Danielle pace back and forth like a tiger trapped in its cage. That is, if the tiger were as neurotic and hysterical as Danielle. She could find something in everything to worry about. Hal just sat next to me, leaning against the relic, occasionally adjusting his dark blue baseball cap.

 

“C’mon Danny, would ya stop that darn pacing?!” he whined, “Just watching you makes me feel on edge” Hal was a pretty mellow dude, so to have him feel nervous meant that something was up.

 

Danielle stopped ramrod straight and pivoted to face us, “But, but the power’s out! And I’ve already tried calling everyone! And it’s cold and wet! What if we catch pneumonia?! Where’s the nearest clinic?!”

 

“Hey, come to think of it, it is pretty cold in here” I mused, “Well duh,” Hal replied, “We’re in the middle of a storm in December!”

 

I looked around the factory, machinery, conveyor belts, nothing spectacular. That’s what I thought, until I noticed a bright, red, line of paint on the cold, rusty machine. I followed the line around the machine to the other side; graffiti, not surprised. The kids in this part of town aren’t exactly model citizens. It looked like regular writing, blotchy and inscrutable. I squinted, trying to make out the writing.

 

Danielle swooned, sneezed and pressed her hand against her face, “Oh no…Don’t tell me I’m getting sick…”, Hal walked over to her and laughed, “You’re probably sick ‘cause you’re gettin’ all stressed out over nothing!” He walked over to Danielle, who crouched down, holding herself, “So cold…”

 

Danielle fell silent.

 

I took another look at the graffiti, and noticed a tiny letter…then another…And another….I pulled my glasses out of my bag, and rubbed the water off them with my shirt. I placed the lens on the machine. It started to hum.

 

“Ah! Do I have a fever? Check to see if I have a fever!” Danielle jumped, grabbing Hal by the collar of his jacket. “Huh? I thought…..Weren’t you trying to relax? I thought you didn’t feel well.”

 

“I feel fine.” She said, standing upright.

 

“You two okay back….”

 

I was cut off by the deafening sound of an alarm. I covered my ears and dropped my glasses, overwhelmed by the cacophony of the old, damaged factory. I couldn’t see Danielle or Hal anywhere, as the lights flickered rapidly. My head was pounding, and I couldn’t tell which machine was making what noise, all of the machines were clinking, whirring, screeching and screaming.

 

“Hal! Danny! Where are you….” I was cut off as I felt something wrap itself tightly around my arm. It jerked upwards, and I felt as though my arm were being torn out of its socket. I screamed, but nobody heard me. No Hal, no Danielle. Nobody. Just me and the machines.

 

I tried pulling on the thing that gripped at my arm, and felt the cold rusty chains that cut through my jacket and into my skin. I tried to run, but there was no floor. I kicked and kicked into the air, and realized that I was being pulled upward. I heard a crack, and lost feeling in my arm.

 

I woke with a bright light shining in my eyes and the cold, wet ground against my check, which was sore, probably from when I hit the ground.

 

…Wait….I fell? The last thing I remembered was….

 

“John”

 

I heard Danielle’s voice coming from the other side of the room. I stumbled, trying to get some support from the wall. My head was pounding, and my left arm was completely numb. I slowly got up and walked towards her voice.

 

“…Danielle?”

 

Danielle stood in the doorway, which we had sealed off last night during the storm. She seemed sort of pale and tired, like she had lost a lot of sleep. Other than that, she seemed fine. After taking in what had occurred, I realized Hal was gone.

 

“Where’s Hal?”

 

“…..I don’t know. When I woke up, he was gone.”

 

Odd, normally he’s always looking for her. While him and me have been friends for years, I couldn’t help but notice how he and Danielle were always so joined at the hip. I figured once the blackout was over, he’d go looking for her first to make sure he was okay. Neurotic, fragile Danielle must have been terrified when all those machines started going awry. How could they have done that anyway? I’m pretty sure this place hasn’t been used in years.

 

“Come on, let’s go home.”

 

“Not until I know Hal’s safe.”

 

I walked all over the factory, calling out for Hal. He wasn’t anywhere to be found. I texted him, called him, and while the signal was fine, the cell always went to voicemail. I turned to Danielle, who didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.

 

“He probably just went home.”

 

That’s crazy, he couldn’t have just gone home without us.

 

I saw a stain by one of the machines, and squinted. I walked towards it, and nearly vomited once I realized what that stain was.

 

It was blood.

 

Forcing yesterday’s lunch back down my throat, I slowly walked towards the machine, hoping it was just a spill or something. Then, I saw it.

 

Hal’s baseball cap, caught in the gears, which oozed with fresh blood.

 

“Oh….No…..Danielle…. Danielle….Danny!”

 

She slowly turned from the sunlight, and waltzed towards the gruesome scene, not once even so much as batting an eyelash.

 

“What is it?”

 

I yanked the cap from the gears, as it was wedged between them. I climbed down from it and showed her the tattered hat.

 

“Hal, he’s…..”

 

She glanced at the hat, then looked up at me.

 

“We should head home”

 


End file.
